


Origins

by Lysa_Lavellan (totalnovaktrash)



Series: We Are All Heroes [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22512298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totalnovaktrash/pseuds/Lysa_Lavellan
Summary: Building the team one by one
Relationships: Amell & Jowan (Dragon Age), Anders & Female Surana (Dragon Age), Female Amell & Anders, Female Amell & Cullen Rutherford, Female Amell & Female Surana (Dragon Age), Jowan & Female Surana (Dragon Age)
Series: We Are All Heroes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619707
Kudos: 3





	1. Maia Amell 1

If anyone was to ask what the most lively place in a mage tower is, the answer would always be the dining hall. Especially during mealtimes when the entire population of the tower was packed into the room and everyone was laughing and shouting and even the Templars seemed to relax a bit.

In the back corner of the mage’s side of the room sat an energetic elf, Clove Surana, and her dark-haired human friend, Jowan. Clove looked up as Anders approached, his personal Templar guard only a few steps behind.

“You’ve got a tail, Mr. Rebel.”

“Oh, haha, Clover,” Anders snarked sitting down next to her. “Maia’s still got hot-shit Rutherford as her tail. When was the last time you gave her shit about it?”

“You’ve got McFadden, though. Rutherford’s not nearly that bad,” Jowan scoffed into his food. 

“And that’s exactly why Greagior assigned him to Maia,” Clove said. “They know she’s too good to go psycho. You, on the other hand—”

“I am the oldest of the four of us, you think I’m not as good as Maia Amell?”

“No, she thinks you’re twice the trouble,” Maia said, sitting down across from Anders with her own dinner. “So why’s Anders in a bad mood this time?”

“You know how he gets when he hasn’t attempted a jailbreak in a while,” Clove said.

Maia snickered. “That’s not the only thing he hasn’t done in a while.”

“Ha! Good point. Who’s gonna risk it with one of the only two mages in the entire tower with near-constant Templar tails?”

“Hey, he could always do the Templar.”

Anders kicked Maia under the table. “Sound more like something you would do.”

She spluttered. “With Cullen?! Don’t even joke!”

“Why not?” Clove poked her. “You’ve got a nickname for him, isn’t that like first base for Templars?”

“You shut up, Surana. Besides, he got that nickname for a reason. He’d never look twice at a mage, let alone me.”

Anders made a face. “Oh, um… are, uh… are you… are you, ah, sure about that, A-Amell?” he mocked.

“He doesn’t do that anymore!”

“She’s turning red!” Clove crowed.

“Jowan’s being unusually quiet tonight!” Maia shouted in an attempt to change the subject. “I find that suspicious.”

“No,” Jowan said, “you are not turning this on me. _I_ actually have a girlfriend.”

“Uh-huh, and do we ever get to meet this mysterious lover of yours?” Clove asked. Jowan didn’t respond. “I didn’t think so.”

Jowan scowled as the others laughed. The four of them were as tight-knit of a group as you would find in a Circle of Magi. Anders and Maia had bonded over being the only two mages with personal guards, Anders for his infamous escape attempts and Maia because she was the First Enchanter’s apprentice and her becoming an abomination would reflect poorly on the Circle. Jowan had eventually sort of attached himself to Maia whenever he could and Maia had essentially adopted Clove on sight. 

The four of them weren’t the most conventional group of friends, but they were Maia’s closet friends. They were her _family_ in the gilded prison of Kinloch Hold, in every sense of the word. Jowan and Anders weren’t Alexander and Daylen but they were still her brothers and Clove was the best sister that Maia could ever ask for.

As mealtime winded down, Clove snapped her fingers in front of Maia’s face. “You still with us, Amell?”

“No, I’m in Val Royeux,” Maia snarked. 

The elf grinned. “We were going to bug Carroll in the library, want in?” 

Maia laughed. “Are you kidding? I’ve got that new lesson with Irving tomorrow, no way I’m going to risk getting in trouble this time. No, I’m going to head back to the bunks and going to sleep early. You three have fun.”

She kissed Clove and Jowan on their cheeks and poked Anders in the arm before collecting her plate and flouncing off. The remaining mages watched Cullen Rutherford dutifully take his own plate and follow.

“You think she really doesn’t know?”

“Are you kidding? She’d be freaking out way more if she knew.”


	2. Maia Amell 2

“They call you my tail, you know.”

“That  _ is _ my job.”

Maia glanced behind her. Templar guards always walked behind and to the left of their mage charges. It made having a conversation very difficult, though Maia was sure that she was likely the only one that bothered. “Well, yes, but I think our dynamic is a little more complex than you just  _ following _ me. I mean, your job is to look after your charge as a  _ protection _ , not…”

“Stalking you with the expectation you’ll go mad at any moment?” Cullen suggested wryly. “I don’t foresee that being an issue. You’re the most talented apprentice in this Circle.”

The image of the creature of pride that had been stalking her in the Fade drifted into Maia’s mind. She stopped walking and turned to face him. “We’re friends, right?”

Cullen froze. “I… uh, I… of course, Maia.”

“And your assignment is to watch me and make sure I don’t become possessed by a demon,” she said.

“Yes,” he responded slowly.

“And you’re not going to let the fact that we’re friends stop you from stopping me if that happens?” Maia asked. Cullen stared at her. She grabbed his wrist. “Promise me that you won’t let me be… an abomination.”

“I promise,” Cullen said quietly.

_ This is stupid. He’s a Templar! That’s the real reason he’s agreeing. Not because he’s your  _ friend. _ It’s his duty to take down the evils born from magic. You have the others, you don’t need him too. _ Maia smiled. “Thanks, Chantry Boy.” She turned towards the door.

“Maia?”

Maia looked back at him. “Yes?”

Cullen cleared his throat. He pulled something out of a pouch on his belt and held it out to her. “I wanted you to have this.”

She took the item from his hand. It was a small, silver coin with an engraving of a woman Maia assumed was meant to be Andraste. 

“My brother gave it to me. It was the only thing he happened to have in his pocket when I was leaving Honnleath, but he told me it was for luck”

She knew that Templars weren’t allowed many personal possessions, let alone lucky charms. They were supposed to rely on faith. “For luck?”

“Take it.”

“I…”

“Please? If only just to humor me.”

Maia closed her hand around the coin. “I’ll keep it safe,” she said quietly.

He nodded. “Sleep well, Maia.”

“You too, Chantry Boy.” She watched him walk back away, back to and slipped into the Apprentice Quarters. Only a handful of other apprentices had the thought to head to sleep early. Maia flopped down face first into her bed and huffed into her pillow.

Six years ago Maia had snuck out of her bed after curfew and, being the rebellious preteen that she was, crept into the Chantry. Even the Templars usually vacated the pews by that time of night leaving the Chantry empty for Maia to have a chat with the only person who ever really listened to her. 

Kind of pathetic, she had thought to herself while staring up at the stone woman, talking to the statue of a dead prophet. But who else did she have? Jowan believed that the world revolved around him, Anders hated the walls of the tower, and even Clove didn’t believe in the Maker to the same extent. 

And as if the Maker himself was listening, a templar walked into the room. 

Not Sir Mullin-- and thank the Maker it wasn’t that grumpy old man-- but a boy about her own age she’d never seen before in her life. A new recruit, he explained, not a transfer. One who seemed kind enough to agree to keep the broken curfew on both of their parts to himself. She had quickly learned that Cullen Rutherford was the rare type of templar who joined the ranks out of duty, not fear. Who genuinely cared about protecting both the mages and the people outside of the Circle.

Maia turned her head to the side to look at the coin in her hand, running her thumb over the carving of Andraste. What an appropriate item from the boy she considered a gift from the Maker’s Prophet.

She shoved metal back into her component pouch and rolled onto her back.

_ Stupid, stupid templar making everything so much harder. _

“Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter. Andraste, give me the strength I need to stand against the depths of my own mind and my ever growing pride. Give me the strength I need to not let down those who have agreed to stand at my side.”


	3. Maia Amell 3

For a mage, Maia Amell really disliked the Fade. 

Even in normal dreams, Maia could always see the image of the raw Fade— all green and rocky and twisted— underneath the fine layer of illusions that shaped whatever setting surrounded her on any given night. There was a constant feeling of… distrust in her chest when she slept. Maia knew at all times that there was a chance that one of the spirits that offered their company for a dream might not be who they claim. 

Might be that wretched Pride demon that refused to leave her alone lately. 

She could feel the strange terrain below her as she sat on the ground, focusing. This wasn’t a dream, it was a lyrium induced trance, and Maia needed a moment to breathe without looking at the raw Fade. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the greenish tinge around her and sense the Black City in the sky. 

“Are you an apprentice?” asked a voice with the soft, echoing quality of a spirit. 

Maia let out a sharp breath. “And if I am?”

“I would suggest you stop sitting around before you end up like me.”

The mage opened her eyes and scanned the area around her. The only other being in the area was a lone rat, staring at her. “I wasn’t aware that being in the Fade made me liable to transform into a rodent.”

The rat shifted its form and grew into a human man in mage robes. “It’s not, but the templar’s killing you for failing your Harrowing is.”

“I’m not going to fail.”

“You don’t have to. If you take too long to succeed, they make the decision for you. Can’t you feel the sword at your neck waiting eagerly to take your life? That’s what happened to me, and it’s what is going to happen to you as well.”

“Oh yes, I’m sure there was, in fact, a templar eagerly waiting to decapitate a  _ senior enchanter _ for taking too long on his Harrowing,” Maia snarked, eyeing the mage’s crimson robes.

The mage had the decency to look ashamed as the vibrant red faded to the more familiar soft blue and purple. “I never had the chance to prove that I was worthy of the position, can you blame me for wanting to pretend I survived to live my life?”

“No,” she admitted, quietly. “I am sorry that you were judged unfairly. What is your name?”

“I‘ve been here so long, I admit that I’ve forgotten. Now I simply call myself Mouse.”

“Mouse,” Maia repeated. “A bit on the nose, don’t you think?”

“So I shouldn’t call you Mage?” Mouse offered with a smile. 

She simply laughed and stood, closing her eyes once again to focus on the air around her hands. The Fade was shaped by the minds of dreamers and the will of mages, anything Maia could imagine she could attempt to summon. She wrapped her fingers around the shaft of a materializing staff. “Much better,” she murmured inspecting her new, elmwood weapon.

“Impressive,” said Mouse.

“I was hoping for yew,” was Maia’s response. “If I’ve got a time limit, I suppose my goal isn’t just to survive, yes? I have to find a demon and prove that I’m strong enough to resist possession?”

The spirit nodded. “A test for you and a tease for the creatures of the Fade. There are other spirits here in the demon’s realm, they may be willing to help you.

“I don’t make a habit of asking others to fight on my behalf. I can find and face this challenge myself.” Maia started down the sloping terrain, doing her best not to think about the eyes of the disturbing statue that felt like they were undeniably fixed on her.

Being aware in the Fade wasn’t anything new to Maia. Even in her dreams she had some level of awareness-- she had to, what with Pride lurking on the edges of her mind. Still, as she walked she could feel the power of the lyrium from the Templar’s ritual on her skin and could tell that it was making the lines and edges of her green-tinted surroundings that much sharper.

“Most mages fear the open Fade,” came Mouse's voice from the ground.

Maia looked down at the rat by her side. “Lots of people fear what they don’t understand.”

“And you understand it?”

“I try to. If the Fade is the source of magic, why shouldn’t I study it? Having an understanding of it, of spirits and demons, helps me.”

“With your magic.”

“With my will,” she corrected. “Why are you following me?”

Mouse shifted back into his mage form. “I… my time for success is long passed, but you? You might have a way out. You don’t mind, do you?”

Maia simply looked at him. She didn’t answer.


End file.
